Ed Fordham

This blog draws on current affairs, local history, politics, international relations (esp. Africa, the Carribean and the Middle East). My work as a School Governor will creep in and my interest in genealogy and the poet Robert Bloomfield. I live in NW6 Kilburn/West Hampstead so that features too. I co-ordinate and administer the Historic Kilburn Plaque Fund as well as being a Trustee of the Kilburn Festival. Contact: ed.fordham@gmail.com facebook page: ed fordham twitter: edfordham

Saturday, 8 September 2012

Kington House, Mortimer Crescent, NW6 5NU in Kilburn, north west London will be the location for a significant unveiling of a plaque to author and broadcaster George Orwell on Tuesday 11th September at 3pm.

All residents and Orwell fans welcome.

The plaque will be unveiled by George Orwell's adopted son Richard Blair.

Residents
in Kilburn will be celebrating their significant literary heritage when
they gather on Tuesday 11th September to unveil a plaque to George
Orwell (real name Eric Blair) who lived on the Mortimer Estate, NW6

The
plaque will be unveiled by Orwell step-son Richard Blair in a ceremony
at 3pm on Tuesday 11th September. The plaque will be on Kington House,
Mortimer Crescent, NW6 5NU – which stands on the site of the house that
Orwell and his family were themselves bombed out of during World War
Two.

There will be a full insight into Orwell’s time in
Kilburn and his literary output and life there during the ceremony. All
residents are invited.

This will be followed by a small
reception in the estate community centre – Mortimer Tenants Hall and
Richard Blair will then go onto West End Lane Books where he will
conduct a reading, speak to local residents and sign some of his
father’s books.

Ed Fordham who head’s up the Historic
Kilburn Plaque Scheme said “It’s great that at a time whilst there is a
debate raging about a statue at the BBC to George Orwell and whether he
was a radical or not, we here in Kilburn, NW6, can get on with
recognising one of our most famous past residents.

“George
Orwell in Kilburn follows in a grand tradition of AA Milne whom we
commemorated last year and there are many more to come including WH
Smith, Louis Wain and Annie Besant.

Richard Blair writes about himself:
“After
school near Edinburgh, I went to 2 Agricultural colleges, one in
Wiltshire and the other in Aberdeen, I went into farming until 1975 when
I joined Massey-Ferguson's demonstration team. Redundancy followed in
1986, so I went off on my own and bought a self catering holiday
business on the West Coast near Oban, which is where I was brought up
after my father died in 1950.

“After renovating and
building some more cottages I sold them in 2008 and more or less
retired, but was able to devote more time to the Orwell Awards Trust and
also to the Orwell Society.

“Married with 2 sons and 5
grand children. My wife, Eleanor and I have been married for 48 yrs and
we spend as much time up at our house in Scotland during the Summer (the
house is in the same village as I had my business)and where we also
keep a boat.”

ENDS

Any
queries should be directed to Ed Fordham on ed.fordham@gmail.com or
07974 950 512. Questions relating to West End Lane Books should be
directed to Danny info@welbooks.co.uk or 0207 431 3770

Interview requests should be emailed in advance and copied to both Ed and Danny.

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

At the risk of an analogy of a relaunch of a relaunch, I am yet again coming round the to revitalising of this blog of mine. Work and interests and family and life generally have taken over and it's time to draw this all together and get writing again...

As a context I am reading a lot again which is great fun and will be putting up some of this in the blog.

The Historic Kilburn Plaque Scheme needs gingering up and galvanising into action, the African Liberal Network is going great guns and the Forum for Africa is picking up steam after two great launch meetings at Liberal Democrat Conference (Birmingham) and Libretto Marketing is taking off nicely.

Saturday, 14 May 2011

The Kilburn History Festival will take place from Wednesday 6th – Sunday 10th July 2011 – a series of talks, walks and guided tours round interesting and significant local buildings.

More and more Kilburn residents have been making enquiries about the local history of the area – often triggered by the knowledge that the Kilburn High Road is the route of the ancient Roman Road, Watling Street.

The history festival comprises a series of 3 history talks, a guided history tour of the Kilburn High Road (repeated 3 times) and a series of local interesting old buildings that will be open for guided tours.

Programme of events July 2011

The talks on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday are all being held in St Mary’s Church, Abbey Road, NW6

Wednesday 6th JulyAncient and Medieval Kilburn by Ed Fordham

Thursday 7th JulyThe Development of Kilburn by Michael Alpert and Dick Weindling

(The tours are free of charge, but if you enjoy it any donation will be given towards the Plaque Scheme)

As most people know Kilburn is divided between Camden and Brent local authorities and in part in Westminster Council as well. This has had the effect of splitting the historical records – whilst Willesden and Hampstead, for example, have been well documented and researched Kilburn has been neglected.

This festival, working in conjunction with the Historic Kilburn Plaque Scheme, seeks to raise the profile of the ancient, diverse, and rich historical tapestry that exists in the local area.

Working with Camden Local Studies & Archives Centre and Brent Archives and Museum

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

One of the main features of this blog is to capture the local area today, draw out the local area of yesterday through surviving history - I soon found however that the pace of change was such that quite often I captured it today and within a matter of weeks and months it had already changed...

Some of the features of the blog in the early days have already gone.

So it seemed only right that I caughts the demolition in my own street of Quex Road of the back of the Older people's hostel.

I can't deny I'm a tad worried that glancing at the website of the architect it looks like they are planning to demolish the whole frontage - which would be a real shame - there are too few nice victorian features in Kilburn and demolishing them wholesale seems overly unecessary.

But at the moment the demolition is just the back of the building so it's poss the front will survive and with it the pleasant streetscape. We will see - a good test for how good/sensitive are Alan Camp as architects I guess.